Random Acts of Poetry

Gag Order

It’s a solitary confinement
a silence he imposes with care
a mask of lies that hide
the reddened impressions of fingers
those telltale expressions of fear

it’s an elaborate masquerade
alone in a crowd of strangers
no one looks at your face
desperation keeps mounting
even as the scars grow fainter

no one looks in your eyes
to notice their light begin to dim
no one misses the beauty, now faded
or hears the listless cadence of footsteps
the cheerless rhythm of tired limbs

it’s a solitary nightmare
a sentence in a prison grim
every face that could have saved you
turned away, fixed eyes on brighter things
and sent you home, again, with him

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free verse